The voice that came out was rough and rugged in nature. 'Here?' Bast thought cautiously. He turned left and right... but there was nothing in sight. He couldn't see any sort of camp. The dust wasn't so violent that it obscured it completely, but it definitely seemed to affect Bast's vision. "Where is it?" he asked, glancing back up to Paleck--the man in question continuously not offering much.
WOOOH!
Bast watched as the man raised his arm, pointing in front of them. "Right there. About a minute down this slope of sand." Paleck replied, signalling to a slight drop a few steps away. It seemed the dust in the air had given it camouflage, obscuring the fall for the misguided. It didn't seem to run that long, and was a short drop down--from where they stood it was hard to see down there however.
He looked at the beads of sweat rolling down Bast's forehead, dripping to the grain-filled ground. He couldn't see his face because it was covered... but it sounded like Paleck was smiling. "You must still be hungry right? Don't worry we have a lot more food at camp."
"Hmm..." a short reply came from the boy.
Up and down, Bast's eyes flicked Paleck's figure as his back was turned. 'What is it...? There's something I can't--'
"Come on let's go. Let's get you settled in," Paleck glanced back one last time, interrupting the boy's thoughts.
Crunch! Crunch!
Bast shook his head once, slow and uncertain. The man in front of him was already moving again--taking a few steps, before sliding down a slope of sand in a loose way; it was as if gravity itself had been invited to take him down.
Grrr!
A familiar sound rummaged through the air, as he watched Paleck slide down. It was his stomach. It sounded with another reminder, that the time to eat was nigh -- the piece of bread not seeming to last him for very long.
"...fuck," Bast whispered as he stood on his toes. Hunger, truly an eternal companion of his had made another house call. Fortunately, it seemed he wouldn't have to wait long to sustain that echo... but that's exactly what stopped him from immediately sliding that slope of sand.
"Nothing's free..." he mumbled, staring over the edge of sand.
Grr!!
Another reminder.
"Huff..." taking a breath, Bast took a few steps forward, closer to the edge of the slope.
Crunch....
There was still time to go a different way. Time to take a different turn and not fall into the unknown. He clenched his jaw. He knew there was something more to the surface about Paleck, but his appearance could only be classified as a fortune that remained to be seen. Who knew what else the endless lands of Varrow held?
This was just the land south of Greyfair. Something he'd never walked across from today. Who knew what else it held, other than the White Mile?
Which is why he didn't turn away. If they truly knew where the Ashen Causeway began--a road he'd only heard in stories, but seemed to promise a road that connected to different cities--then he'd have to take a bite in whatever was going on.
'I gotta watch them,' he thought, taking one last look behind him. The steps he'd already taken in sand seemed to be vanishing away, quicker than he'd have liked. He dug the Coin out from his left pocket, as he'd been fiddling with it the whole time -- all the while his right side had been numb.
[Flips: 2/3]
"Stomach... and these flips. Only thing that needs reminding more is my arm."
He glanced at the rustic features of the coin. It appeared better than when he'd first came across it, but it was still on the weathered side. A testament to its title: [The Beggar's Coin]
'Enough stalling...' he put the coin back into his pocket. "Come on..."
The sand gave way beneath his boots.
Shkk-- Crunch!
It wasn't all at once, it was just enough that he had to lean forward, shifting his weight as the slope caught him. "Khff!" a cough erupted from his mouth as he slid a few feet down, boots scraping, grains running loud in the windy air.
He steadied his thumping heart, looking below him.
Paleck was already further below, moving with the certainty of someone who knew exactly where he was going.
Shkk-- Crunch! Shkk-- Crunch!
As his eyes steadied, the camp revealed itself slowly.
There wasn't a wall.
There wasn't a gate.
Shapes emerged from the sand--a few low tents half-buried in ridges, crooked posts hanging with cloths snapping in the slight air. Smoke drifted up in thin lines, barely visible against the dusty sky.
He couldn't see anyone as he was sliding yet, but it was clear... more than a few people stayed here.
Shkk-- Crunch!
'...here we go.'